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A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old female lion saved from war-torn the war zone has undergone vital oral operation to remove a badly decayed canine tooth resulting from an infection.

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 collected half a million pounds to support her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was carried out on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see right away the broken tooth was severely infected," said the dentist.

He believed the infection was caused by a trauma sustained over twelve months back, leading to germs creating harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the safest, the most conservative and most secure manner," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to hunt for food, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth 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 multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

The curator, curator at the facility, said the procedure was a "total triumph."

She noted the team had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be somewhat sore 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 the curator.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.