Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	(a) Basis of Presentation The condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Kinetic Concepts, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated entity is referred to herein as "KCI." The condensed consolidated financial statements appearing in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in KCI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2011. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP" or "the Codification") for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information necessary for a fair presentation of results of operations, financial position and cash flows in conformity with GAAP. Operating results from interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the fiscal year as a whole. The condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation of our results for the interim periods presented. Certain prior-period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2011 presentation. We have three reportable operating segments which correspond to our global business units: Active Healing Solutions ("AHS"); LifeCell; and Therapeutic Support Systems ("TSS"). We have three primary geographic regions for which we provide supplemental information: Americas, which is comprised principally of the United States and includes Canada, Puerto Rico and Latin America; EMEA, which is comprised principally of Europe and includes the Middle East and Africa; and APAC, which is comprised of the Asia Pacific region.
Income Taxes	(b) Income Taxes We compute our quarterly effective income tax rate based on our annual estimated effective income tax rate plus the impact of any discrete items that occur in the quarter. The effective income tax rate for the second quarter and the first six months of 2011 was 0.27 and 0.271, respectively, compared to 0.3 for the second quarter and the first six months of 2010. The lower effective income tax rate in the second quarter and first six months of 2011 resulted primarily from a higher percentage of taxable income being generated in lower-tax foreign jurisdictions.
Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements	(c) Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements We use derivative financial instruments to manage the economic impact of fluctuations in interest rates. We do not use financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes. Periodically, we enter into interest rate protection agreements to modify the interest characteristics of our outstanding debt. We designated our interest rate swap agreements as cash flow hedge instruments. Each interest rate swap is designated as a hedge of interest payments associated with specific principal balances and terms of our debt obligations. These agreements involve the exchange of amounts based on variable interest rates for amounts based on fixed interest rates, over the life of the agreement, without an exchange of the notional amount upon which the payments are based. The differential to be paid or received, as interest rates change, is accrued and recognized as an adjustment to interest expense related to the debt. We also use derivative financial instruments to manage the economic impact of fluctuations in currency exchange rates on our intercompany balances and corresponding cash flows and to manage our transactional currency exposures when our foreign subsidiaries enter into transactions denominated in currencies other than their local currency. We enter into foreign currency exchange contracts to manage these economic risks. These contracts are not designated as hedges; as such, we recognize the fair value of these instruments as an asset or liability with income or expense recognized in the current period. Gains and losses resulting from the foreign currency fluctuations impact on transactional exposures are included in foreign currency loss in our condensed consolidated statements of earnings. As required, all derivative instruments are recorded on the balance sheet at fair value. The fair values of our interest rate swap agreements and foreign currency exchange contracts are determined based on inputs that are readily available in public markets or can be derived from information available in publicly-quoted markets, which represent level 2 inputs as defined by the Codification. We estimate the effectiveness of our interest rate swap agreements utilizing the hypothetical derivative method. Under this method, the fair value of the actual interest rate swap agreement is compared to the fair value of a hypothetical swap agreement that has the same critical terms as the portion of the loan being hedged. Changes in the effective portion of the fair value of the remaining interest rate swap agreement are recognized in other comprehensive income, net of tax, until the hedged item is recognized into earnings.
Concentration of Credit Risk	(d) Concentration of Credit Risk KCI has a concentration of credit risk with financial institutions related to its derivative instruments and the note hedge described in Note 3. As of June 30, 2011, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase held equity hedges related to our convertible note hedge in notional amounts of approximately $176.5 million each. Bank of America was also the counterparty on some of our interest rate protection agreements and our foreign currency exchange contracts in notional amounts totaling $50.0 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Additionally, JP Morgan Chase was also the counterparty on some of our interest rate protection agreements and our foreign currency exchange contracts in notional amounts totaling $25.0 million and $6.5 million, respectively. We use master netting agreements with our derivative counterparties to reduce our risk and use multiple counterparties to reduce our concentration of credit risk. We maintain cash and cash equivalents with several financial institutions. Deposits held with banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Generally, these deposits may be redeemed upon demand and are maintained at financial institutions of reputable credit and, therefore, bear minimal credit risk.