Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Deferred tax (benefit) expense	$ (2,645,000)
Effective tax rate	17.00%	0.00%
Unrecognized tax benefits	$ 0
Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Estimated annual effective tax rate			4.78%
TransEnterix Italia [Member]
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Adjustment to deferred tax liability	$ 1,700,000