In the UK, the established practice is to operate on the baby almost immediately after birth and place a protective layer of tissue around the spine.

BBC: Surgery hope for unborn babies

For regeneration to continue, stem cells from both the bone marrow and the heart itself must be coaxed to grow a second layer of tissue that is necessary for the formation of arteries, which are bigger and thicker than capillaries.

WSJ: Nanotechnology Holds Promise for Heart Patients

In one case, a man who had been a linebacker for sixteen years, you could see, without the aid of magnification, that there was trouble: there was a shiny tan layer of scar tissue, right on the surface of the frontal lobe, where the brain had repeatedly slammed into the skull.

NEWYORKER: Offensive Play