Business segments and other information - segment result (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 28, 2014	Jun. 29, 2014	Mar. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 29, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014 segment		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments									6
Revenue	$ 476,008	$ 457,173	$ 468,105	$ 438,546	$ 450,539	$ 413,796	$ 420,059	$ 411,877	$ 1,839,832		$ 1,696,271		$ 1,551,009
Segment operating profit									284,862		233,261		(97,375)
Depreciation and amortization									127,030		107,935		94,884
Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									365,164	[1]	302,285	[1]	259,497	[1]
Segment Reconciling Items
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									(80,302)	[2]	(69,024)	[2]	(356,872)	[2]
Vascular North America
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									259,227		231,112		222,749
Depreciation and amortization									31,782		28,719		23,063
Vascular North America | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									41,079		23,798		26,048
Anesthesia Respiratory North America
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									222,650		228,485		180,363
Depreciation and amortization									17,109		13,162		7,955
Anesthesia Respiratory North America | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									26,574		21,910		14,048
Surgical North America
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									150,121		146,058		143,875
Depreciation and amortization									6,316		10,549		3,646
Surgical North America | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									49,592		50,334		50,615
EMEA Segment
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									593,065		557,427		510,248
Depreciation and amortization									38,062		29,947		22,975
EMEA Segment | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									114,650		87,902		65,822
Asia Segment
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									237,696		207,207		173,721
Depreciation and amortization									8,515		4,960		3,653
Asia Segment | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									62,152		63,822		52,541
OEM Segment
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									143,966		131,173		140,230
Depreciation and amortization									6,175		4,876		4,083
OEM Segment | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									30,635		27,328		31,664
All Other
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Revenue									233,107		194,809		179,823
Depreciation and amortization									19,071		15,722		29,509
All Other | Operating Segments
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Segment operating profit									$ 40,482		$ 27,191		$ 18,759

[1] Segment operating profit includes segment net revenues from external customers reduced by its standard cost of goods sold, adjusted for certain manufacturing variances, selling, general and administrative expenses, research and development expenses and an allocation of corporate expenses. Corporate expenses are allocated among the segments in proportion to the respective amounts of one of several items (such as sales, numbers of employees, and amount of time spent), depending on the category of expense involved.

[2] Unallocated expenses primarily include manufacturing variances and fixed manufacturing costs, with the exception of certain manufacturing variances allocated to the segments as noted above, as well as net gain on sales of assets, goodwill impairment and restructuring and other impairment charges.