Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended												1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	18 Months Ended	1 Months Ended						1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 W. L. Gore	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore	Dec. 31, 2007 W. L. Gore	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore Attorney Fees	Mar. 31, 2009 W. L. Gore Prejudgment Interest	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore Minimum	Jul. 31, 2010 W. L. Gore Maximum	Jun. 30, 2013 Total Receivables Related to Product Liability Matters	Dec. 31, 2012 Total Receivables Related to Product Liability Matters	Jun. 30, 2007 Hernia Product Claims LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Jun. 30, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Mar. 27, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Arbitration Proceedings	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Superior Court of State of Rhode Island Plaintiff	Jul. 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	Jun. 30, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Carriers	Jul. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Jul. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2013 Filter Product Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Jul. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Jul. 18, 2013 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event Minimum State Law Claims LegalMatter	Dec. 31, 2011 Brachytherapy Matter
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits																			1		845	720		685
Number of individual plaintiffs																		1,680					780				8,225				31
Number of putative class actions																			2	3								5	3			3
Number of previously filed class action lawsuits																			10
Number of Multidistrict Litigations														1
U. S. District Court award for plaintiff's damages																									$ 3.6
Number of putative class actions dismissed																														2
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
Non-cash charge write off related to insurance receivable																	25.0
Non-cash charge write off related to insurance receivable after tax																	24.5
Insurance coverage no longer disputed																										50
Number of insurance carriers																										1
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										12.50%	20.00%
Escrow deposit representing an estimation of liability				506
Product Claims, charges incurred before taxes	293.0	293.0
Product Claims, charges incurred after tax	276.0	276.0
Accruals for product liability and other legal matters	522.0	522.0	158.1
Payments to qualified settlement fund															7.0	164.6
Payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds															23.1	155.7
Other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds															6.6	17.2
Receivables related to product liability matters												$ 174.6	$ 45.6