diff --git a/src/penai/models.py b/src/penai/models.py
index 5928291..b46e627 100644
--- a/src/penai/models.py
+++ b/src/penai/models.py
@@ -273,23 +273,57 @@ def _element_to_string(cls, element: etree.Element) -> str:
     @classmethod
     def _remove_unwanted_elements(cls, tree: BetterElement) -> BetterElement:
         root = deepcopy(tree)
+
         removed_elements = []
-        for _i, element in enumerate(root.iter()):
-            keep = cls._is_penpot_element(element)
-            if not keep and element.tag == cls._tag("g", "svg"):
+        retained_element_set = set()
+
+        # traverse the elements of the tree, collecting the ones to remove
+        for element in root.iter():
+            if element in retained_element_set:
+                continue
+
+            is_penpot_element = cls._is_penpot_element(element)
+
+            # apply special handling depending on penpot element
+            if is_penpot_element:
+                if element.tag == cls._name("shape", "penpot"):
+                    attr_type = element.attrib.get(cls._name("type", "penpot"))
+                    if attr_type in ("path", "circle", "ellipse"):
+                        # for certain types penpot shapes, we need to retain the subsequent <g> sibling and all its descendants
+                        subsequent_g = None
+                        sibling = element
+                        while subsequent_g is None:
+                            sibling = sibling.getnext()
+                            if sibling.tag == cls._name("defs", "svg"):
+                                continue
+                            elif sibling.tag == cls._name("g", "svg"):
+                                subsequent_g = sibling
+                            else:
+                                raise ValueError(
+                                    f"Unexpected element after a penpot shape path: {sibling}"
+                                )
+                        retained_element_set.update(subsequent_g.iter())  # type: ignore
+
+            # decide whether to keep or remove the current element:
+            # We keep penpot elements and <g> elements that have at least one penpot element as a child
+            keep = is_penpot_element
+            if not keep and element.tag == cls._name("g", "svg"):
                 for child in element.getchildren():
                     if cls._is_penpot_element(child):
                         keep = True
                         break
             if not keep:
                 removed_elements.append(element)
+
+        # apply the actual removal of the elements
         for element in removed_elements:
             element.getparent().remove(element)
+
         return root
 
     @classmethod
-    def _tag(cls, tag: str, namespace: str) -> str:
-        return "{" + cls.NSMAP[namespace] + "}" + tag
+    def _name(cls, name: str, namespace: str) -> str:
+        return "{" + cls.NSMAP[namespace] + "}" + name
 
     @classmethod
     def _nsmap_with_default(cls, default_ns: str) -> dict[str | None, str]:
@@ -297,7 +331,7 @@ def _nsmap_with_default(cls, default_ns: str) -> dict[str | None, str]:
 
     def to_svg_root(self) -> etree.Element:
         nsmap = self._nsmap_with_default("svg")
-        root = etree.Element(self._tag("svg", namespace="svg"), nsmap=nsmap)
+        root = etree.Element(self._name("svg", namespace="svg"), nsmap=nsmap)
         root.append(self.root)
         return root