English common law, for instance, did not permit adoption since it contradicted the customary rules of inheritance. In the same vein, Frances Napoleonic Code made adoption difficult, requiring adopters to be over the age of 50, sterile, older than the adopted person by at least 15 years, and to have fostered the adoptee for at least six years. Some adoptions continued to occur, however, but became informal, based on ad hoc contracts. For example, in the year 737, in a charter from the town of Lucca, three adoptees were made heirs to an estate. Like other contemporary arrangements, the agreement stressed the responsibility of the adopted rather than adopter, focusing on the fact that, under the contract, the adoptive father was meant to be cared for in his old age; an idea that is similar to the conceptions of adoption under Roman law.Europes cultural makeover marked a period of significant innovation for adoption. Without support from the nobility, the practice gradually shifted toward abandoned children. Abandonment levels rose with the fall of the empire and many of the foundlings were left on the doorstep of the Church. Initially, the clergy reacted by drafting rules to govern the exposing, selling, and rearing of abandoned children. The Churchs innovation, however, was the practice of oblation, whereby children were dedicated to lay life within monastic institutions and reared within a monastery. This created the first system in European history in which abandoned children did not have legal, social, or moral disadvantages.
When surgery is required, particularly when there is a severe disfiguration of the jaw, it is common to use a rib graft to help correct the shape.According to literature, HFM patients can be treated with various treatment options such as functional therapy with an appliance, distraction osteogenesis, or costochondral graft. The treatment is based on the type of severity for these patients. According to Pruzankskys classification, if the patient has moderate to severe symptoms, then surgery is preferred. If patient has mild symptoms, then a functional appliance is generally used.According to Dr. Harry Pepe, a pediatrician from Hollywood, Fl, the goal of treatment in hemifacial microsomia is to elongate the deficient jaw bone to restore facial symmetry and correct the slanting bite (occlusion).Patients can also benefit from a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA). Terminology
The condition is also known by various other names:
Lateral facial dysplasia
First and second branchial arch syndrome
Oral-mandibular-auricular syndrome
Otomandibular dysostosis
Craniofacial microsomia

See also
Condylar hypoplasia
Goldenhar syndrome
Parry–Romberg syndrome

References
^  "Hemifacial Microsomia" at the Tennessee Craniofacial Center. Accessed 20 January 2008. ^  "Hemifacial Microsomia" at the Childrens Hospital and Health System of Wisconsin. Accessed 20 January 2008. External links
GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Craniofacial Microsomia Overview