Saved Ukrainian Lion Receives Critical Dental Operation
The Big Cat Sanctuary
An adolescent lioness rescued from conflict-ridden Ukraine has received critical oral operation to extract a severely infected canine tooth caused by an infection.
Lira arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a campaign by managing director Cam Whitnall, who collected half a million pounds to support her and four other rescued lions.
The Rescue Center
The procedure was performed on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.
"Upon inspecting the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the damaged fang was severely infected," said the dentist.
He thought the dental issue was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, leading to germs creating harmful substances within the fang.
"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.
The expert explained that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."
The Animal Rescue Facility
The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 3.14 inches in length, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.
He also performed a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was discovered to have a similar issue.
Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "complete success."
She said the staff had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "how serious the condition was."
"Lira will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the next few days," added Ms Smith.
The successful surgery marks a significant step in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.
