A Tissue-Sparing Technique for Patients Seeking Subtle, Natural-Looking Breast Enhancement
Preservé is a specialized breast augmentation system, designed by the manufacturers of Motiva breast implants, that uses purpose-built instruments and flexible implants to minimize tissue disruption during surgery. This can translate to a shorter, more comfortable recovery.
The technique has been hailed as a less invasive breast enhancement technique, and is a form of preservation breast augmentation—meaning that it preserves as much of your natural breast tissue, ligaments, and sensation as possible. Dr. Katerina Gallus is one of only two plastic surgeons in San Diego currently offering Motiva Preservé, and she is the only female plastic surgeon in the region providing this technique. Here’s what you need to know about how Preservé works and who may be a good candidate.
Preservé Minimizes Tissue Trauma by Using a Balloon Instead of a Scalpel
Preservé is still surgery, performed in an accredited operating room with all appropriate safety protocols. The difference is in how the implant pocket—the space where the implant will sit—is created.
In traditional breast augmentation, Dr. Gallus uses instruments to dissect and shape the implant pocket—the space where the implant will sit. While effective, this process involves cutting through tissue, including some of the supportive ligaments that help maintain natural breast shape and position.
With Preservé, Dr. Gallus takes a different approach. After making a small incision (approximately 3 centimeters, compared to the 4 to 5 centimeters typical of traditional augmentation), she uses a Channel Separator to create a narrow pathway to the chest wall. Then, an Inflatable Balloon is inserted and gently expanded to shape the pocket without cutting through supportive structures.
This results in less tissue trauma, a smaller incision, and supportive ligaments that remain intact.
Recovery Feels Different With Preservé
Recovery is one of the biggest reasons patients choose Preservé. Traditional breast augmentation requires general anesthesia: a ventilator breathing for you, a significant systemic drug load, and the grogginess and nausea that often follow. Preservé doesn’t require that. It uses tumescent anesthesia, a numbing solution injected directly into the breast tissue, so your whole system isn’t put under. IV sedation is available if you want it, but many patients don’t need it. You come out of the procedure faster, clearer, and with less nausea.
The implant also sits above the pectoral muscle, not underneath it. Submuscular placement requires lifting the chest muscle, and that muscle doesn’t love being moved. Lifting your arms, carrying groceries, picking up a child—these can be genuinely uncomfortable for the first week or two after traditional augmentation. With Preservé, that source of discomfort isn’t part of the equation.
This procedure is still surgery. But lighter anesthesia and no muscle involvement add up, and patients tend to feel more like themselves, sooner.
Preservé Utilizes Flexible Silicone Implants That Move Naturally
The Preservé system exclusively uses Motiva Ergonomix implants, which are made with a softer, more flexible silicone gel than traditional implants. This flexibility serves two purposes: it allows the implant to be guided into position through a smaller opening with less force, and it creates a more natural look and feel after surgery.
Ergonomix implants shift subtly from round to teardrop depending on your body position, mimicking the way natural breast tissue actually moves rather than maintaining a fixed shape.
They also feature Motiva’s SmoothSilk surface, which initial clinical data suggests may reduce the risk of capsular contracture, which is one of the most common breast augmentation complications. Volumes up to 315 cc are compatible with the Preservé technique, and you’ll have several projection options (mini, demi, and full) so we can personalize your results.
Is Preservé Right for You?
Preservé is designed for patients seeking a subtle, natural enhancement—typically in the range of one to two cup sizes (up to 315 cc of volume increase). If you’re hoping for a more significant size change, a different implant or surgical technique will likely serve you better.
Sensation is another common concern for breast augmentation patients. While no surgeon can guarantee that sensation will be unchanged after any breast surgery, Preservé’s tissue-sparing approach is specifically designed to minimize disruption to the nerves that contribute to nipple and breast sensation.
The best way to determine whether Preservé is right for you is to meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate your anatomy, discuss your goals, and recommend a personalized surgical plan.
