Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	36 Months Ended						6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 22, 2007 Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2011 Hernia Repair Products	Jun. 30, 2012 WomenS Health Product Claims	Dec. 31, 2011 Brachytherapy Matter	Mar. 31, 2011 W. L. Gore	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore	Dec. 31, 2007 W. L. Gore	Mar. 31, 2009 Attorney Fees	Mar. 31, 2009 Prejudgment Interest	Jun. 30, 2012 Hernia Products Claims	Jun. 30, 2012 Hernia Products Claims	Dec. 31, 2011 Hernia Products Claims	Jun. 30, 2012 Other Legal Matter	Aug. 30, 2010 Superior Court of State of Rhode Island Hernia Repair Products	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Hernia Repair Products Plaintiff	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event WomenS Health Product Claims Plaintiff	Jul. 26, 2012 Subsequent Event WomenS Health Product Claims	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Filter Product Claims Plaintiff	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event United States Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Canada Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims WomenS Health Product Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event State Law Claims Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter	Jul. 19, 2012 Subsequent Event Superior Court of State of Rhode Island State Law Claims Hernia Repair Products LegalMatter
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits																						1			1,710	805	905	890
Number of individual plaintiffs																		2,755	1,035		60
Number of putative class actions																							2	4
Number of previously filed class action lawsuits																						10
Number of Multidistrict Litigations			1
U. S. District Court award for plaintiff's damages																	$ 1.5			$ 3.6
Product Claims, charges incurred before taxes				184.3
Product Claims, charges incurred after tax				180.6
Receivable insurance coverage disputed													25.0			26.4
Insurance coverage disputed					50
Legal settlement costs, gross						51.0
Legal settlement costs, net of tax						40.8
U. S. District Court award for damages								109	371	185	19	20
Court-assessed royalty rate, lower limit								12.50%
Court-assessed royalty rate, upper limit								20.00%
Escrow deposit representing an estimation of liability							367
Accruals for product liability and other legal matters	194.7	287.3
Payments to qualified settlement fund													6.2	155.4
Cumulative payments from qualified settlement fund to qualified claimants														100.0
Payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds													97.9
Cumulative other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds														7.3
Other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds													4.7
Receivables from insurance companies													$ 62.8	$ 62.8	$ 51.0