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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has received critical dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth caused by an infection.

Lira was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 following a campaign by director Cam Whitnall, who collected £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was performed on Friday 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 Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, causing germs producing harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is non-human dental problems should be addressed 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, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the procedure was a "complete success."

She noted the staff had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the coming days," added Ms Smith.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.