Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended												3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		15 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Total Receivables From Insurance Companies	Dec. 31, 2012 Total Receivables From Insurance Companies	Dec. 31, 2012 W. L. Gore	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore	Dec. 31, 2007 W. L. Gore	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore Minimum	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore Maximum	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore Attorney Fees	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore Prejudgment Interest	Dec. 31, 2011 Brachytherapy Matter	Jun. 30, 2007 Hernia Product Claims LegalMatter	Mar. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Jun. 30, 2011 Hernia Product Claims	Mar. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Mar. 27, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Arbitration Proceedings	Mar. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Arbitration Proceedings	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Superior Court of State of Rhode Island Plaintiff	Apr. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Superior Court of State of Rhode Island State Law Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 31, 2012 Women's Health Product Claims	Mar. 31, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Carriers	Mar. 31, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Total Receivables From Insurance Companies	Apr. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Apr. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Apr. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Apr. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims Minimum LegalMatter
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits																					1		890	720		695							2,545
Number of individual plaintiffs																				1,740					785					3,060				25
Number of putative class actions																					2	3									5	1			3
Number of previously filed class action lawsuits																					10
Number of Multidistrict Litigations														1
Product Claims, charges incurred before taxes																$ 184,300,000
Product Claims, charges incurred after tax																180,600,000
U. S. District Court award for plaintiff's damages																											3,600,000
Number of putative class actions with class certification hearings scheduled																																			1
Period for additional Filter Product Claims trials																																			12 months
Number of claims in settlement agreement																																				30
Receivable insurance coverage disputed																			25,000,000										12,500,000
Non-cash charge write off related to insurance receivable	25,800,000																	25,000,000
Non-cash charge write off related to insurance receivable after tax																		24,500,000
Insurance coverage disputed																												50,000,000
Number of insurance carriers																												1
Legal settlement costs, gross													51,000,000
Legal settlement costs, net of tax													40,800,000
U. S. District Court award for damages						109,000,000	371,000,000	185,000,000			19,000,000	20,000,000
Court-assessed royalty rate									12.50%	20.00%
Escrow deposit representing an estimation of liability					471,000,000
Accruals for product liability and other legal matters	157,800,000	158,100,000
Payments to qualified settlement fund															7,000,000		164,600,000
Cumulative payments from qualified settlement fund to qualified claimants																	138,600,000
Payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds															6,000,000
Cumulative other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds																	12,900,000
Other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds															2,300,000
Receivables from insurance companies			$ 22,500,000	$ 45,600,000