f95toli said:
Why would that be less hygienic than any other type of shoe? I don't think there are any special shoes for use in operating rooms; and I don't remember seeing anyone changing shoes when walking in/out of the room meaning surgeons are presumably usually wearing what everyone else working at a hospitals would wear (which as far as I am aware is usually shoes that look more or less like Crocs)
Some googling:
https://www.oxypas.com/en-gb/sector/operating-room
Years ago I watched a documentary about orthopedic surgery; and they all wore wellies because the floor tended to get...well...messy
The foot covering,I bet, is used to protect against that which might drip onto the foot area, and it's throw away, so no clean up for shoe wear afterwards.
Protection for the wearer also should be considered, on the chance that the patient can have any type of disease, a surgeon now wears full protective gear, including a face mask at times to guard against spraying blood for example.
Now one sees dentists and assistants, police, first responders, wearing gear for their own protection rather than for the patient.
Go back to HIV scare several years ago and the fear produced, and the ensuing protective remedies - ie. mouth to mouth respiration no longer recommended as a means to save a life.
( As an aside, fast food joints now issue gloves and hair nets, for food handling so the client feels being looked after - yet the same person handles the money and the till, and the food )