Medafor Matters (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			13 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			13 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Nov. 30, 2010 Medafor Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Medafor Inc. [Member]	Jun. 08, 2012 Medafor Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Medafor Inc. [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 HemoStase Inventory [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 HemoStase Inventory [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 HemoStase Inventory [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Medafor Settlement [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Medafor Settlement [Member]
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee [Line Items]
Number of shares agreed to purchase under stock purchase agreement				2.4
Shares purchased under stock purchase agreement					2.4		2.4
Carrying value of shares					$ 2,600,000		$ 2,600,000
Original purchase value of shares				4,900,000
Inventories	10,557,000	7,320,000							0	0
Cost of product favorably impacted								330,000
Percent of diluted outstanding stock acquired that will require a future per share payment to be made												50.00%
Period from agreement date that merger occurs that will require a future per share payment to be made											3 years
Value of Medafor Derivative			620,000		0		0
Change in value of derivative	0	0	1,300,000
Proceeds from legal settlement													3,500,000
Value of lawsuit withdrawn against CryoLife						1,200,000
Gain recorded as a reduction in general, administrative, and marketing expenses	65,149,000	57,302,000	49,064,000											4,700,000
Discharged reduction in accounts payable pursuant to settlement agreement														$ 1,200,000