Rescued from Ukraine Lion Receives Essential Surgery
The Big Cat Sanctuary
A three-year-old female lion rescued from war-torn the war zone has received critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected canine tooth caused by an infection.
The lioness was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 after a fundraising effort by director Cam Whitnall, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions.
The Big Cat Sanctuary
The surgery was performed on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.
"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the damaged fang was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.
He thought the dental issue was due to a trauma sustained more than a year ago, causing bacteria creating toxins within the fang.
"My philosophy is non-human dental problems need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and most secure manner," he explained.
The expert explained that as Lira did not need to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."
The Animal Rescue Facility
The sanctuary said the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and seal the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.
He also performed a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.
The curator, manager at the facility, said the procedure was a "complete success."
She said the team had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."
"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented Ms Smith.
This vital operation marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.
