Rescued from Ukraine Lion Receives Essential Surgery
A Wildlife Rescue Center
An adolescent female lion saved from war-torn Ukraine has received critical dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth resulting from an abscess.
The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised £500,000 to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.
The Rescue Center
The surgery was performed on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.
"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said the dentist.
He believed the dental issue was caused by a injury sustained over twelve months back, leading to bacteria creating harmful substances within the fang.
"My philosophy is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.
Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to hunt for food, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."
The Big Cat Sanctuary
The sanctuary said the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the large wound with seven dissolving sutures.
He also performed a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.
The curator, curator at the facility, declared the procedure was a "total triumph."
She said the team had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "how serious the condition was."
"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the coming days," commented Ms Smith.
This vital operation represents a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.
