Preservé™ Breast Augmentation in Beverly Hills

Preservé™ by Motiva is a tissue-preserving breast augmentation technique. Instead of cutting a pocket for the implant, the surgeon uses fluid, a Channel Separator, and an Inflatable Balloon to gently open a space above the chest muscle through a small incision in the crease under the breast, then places a Motiva SmoothSilk® implant.

Dr. Kelly Killeen, a double board-certified plastic surgeon (American Board of Surgery and American Board of Plastic Surgery) in Beverly Hills, was one of the first surgeons in the United States trained in Preservé. She has performed it since August 2025 and now trains other board-certified plastic surgeons in the technique.

Written and medically reviewed by Kelly Killeen, MD, FACS. Last updated September 30, 2026.

Dr. Killeen's practice is located in the heart of Beverly Hills, with Preservé™ patients traveling in from across the greater Los Angeles area, including West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Bel Air, Pacific Palisades, Hollywood, Pasadena, Calabasas, and Sherman Oaks, as well as from out of state.

Every Preservé procedure is performed at an accredited facility, either the Quad A (AAAASF) accredited surgery center in Dr. Killeen's Beverly Hills office or Cedars-Sinai, with board-certified anesthesiologists. Preservé can be performed under local anesthesia with sedation or under general anesthesia, and patients go home the same day. For patients traveling from outside the LA area, the team helps coordinate scheduling, recommended recovery accommodations nearby, and post-operative follow-up.

1. October 2024

   Completed Motiva's implant training after the FDA approved Motiva implants in the United States.
2. July 2025

   Trained in the Preservé technique in Costa Rica, where Motiva implants are made.
3. August 2025

   Began performing Preservé as one of the first surgeons using it in the United States.
4. January 2026

   Began training other board-certified plastic surgeons in Preservé as it rolled out nationally.
5. Today

   Performs both Preservé and traditional breast augmentation, and recommends whichever fits your anatomy and goals.

Watch Dr. Killeen perform and explain Preservé in the operating room on GlowLab with Susan Yara (December 2025).

You can confirm the surgeons trained in Preservé in Motiva's surgeon locator.

Traditional breast augmentation creates the implant pocket by dissecting it, typically with cautery and retractors. Preservé creates the space differently. A cannula placed under ultrasound guidance separates the tissue with fluid, a Channel Separator makes a path, and an Inflatable Balloon sized to the chosen implant gently spreads the tissue open. As Dr. Killeen describes it, "it creates a space by spreading and not cutting."

The implant sits right above the chest muscle, nested within the breast's own support structure. Because the space is made for the implant rather than for the full width of the breast, a smaller implant can be placed exactly where volume is wanted, such as the upper breast.

Preservé is a technique, not an implant. In the United States, its instruments are registered with the FDA and are used with Motiva's SmoothSilk® implants, which the FDA approved in September 2024. Learn how the Preservé pocket differs from a traditional over-the-muscle augmentation.

1. 1

   Consultation and Sizing

   Dr. Killeen evaluates your breast shape and tissue, and 3D imaging helps choose an implant size for where you want volume.
2. 2

   Anesthesia

   Local anesthesia with sedation, or general anesthesia. In Dr. Killeen's experience, patients recover similarly either way.
3. 3

   A Small Incision

   A small incision is made in the crease under the breast.
4. 4

   Hydrodissection

   A cannula placed under ultrasound guidance uses fluid to separate the tissue in the plane right above the chest muscle.
5. 5

   Channel Separator and Balloon

   The Channel Separator creates a path, then the Inflatable Balloon, chosen to match the implant, gently stretches the space open over about five minutes, which also helps control bleeding. No cautery or retractors are used to make the pocket.
6. 6

   Implant Placement

   The implant is placed with a no-touch technique, the incision is closed, and you go home the same day.

Dr. Killeen's traditional breast augmentation is also placed over the muscle (subfascial), so the main differences are how the space is made and how quickly you get back to your routine:

Both are good options, and Dr. Killeen performs both. Compare recovery after Preservé and traditional augmentation or read about traditional breast augmentation.

The first large U.S. case series on Preservé, published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal in September 2026, followed 159 patients at five U.S. centers for about five months. The authors reported no early hematomas and no loss of breast sensation, and 94% of patients were satisfied or extremely satisfied. It is early data, and longer follow-up is still to come.

1. Pittman TA, Steve A, Zeidler K, Chidester JR, Calobrace MB. Minimally Invasive, Tissue-Preserving Breast Augmentation: Insights From a Large Case Series, Technique and Surgical Pearls. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 2026;46(Suppl 2):S117-S126. doi:10.1093/asj/sjag113
2. Motiva USA. Preservé patient information. motivausa.com/patient/preserve
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Premarket approval P230005, Motiva SmoothSilk Round Ergonomix silicone gel-filled breast implants, September 26, 2024. FDA record

Preservé uses breast implants and carries the same core risks as any breast augmentation: