I'm using a pseudo-element with an inline SVG image:

.block > .title::before {
  content: url("data:image/svg+xml,...");
  height: 1.5em;
  width: 2em;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  margin-right: 1rem;
  position: absolute;
}     

Before	After

And here's the full example: pseudo.html

As you can see the inline image (macOS window buttons in the upper-left corner) is removed.

If I replace the content with a text then the pseudo-element is preserved (ie. content: 'text').