Disposable cap for surgery

Surgeons for years have stepped into operating rooms wearing their surgical cap — a snug covering that ties in back and comes in standard-issue blue or hundreds of personalized designs.

But a crackdown appears to be underway on that almost sacred piece of headgear.

Inspectors in January reprimanded operating room staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for having the hair around their ears uncovered during surgery — and for sporting visible facial hair. And a New York surgeon was written up for showing 3 inches of hair at the nape of his neck.