Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended								1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	24 Months Ended	0 Months Ended					3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Nov. 02, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Total Receivables Related to Product Liability Matters	Dec. 31, 2012 Total Receivables Related to Product Liability Matters	Jan. 31, 2014 Subsequent Event	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, 2007 Hernia Product Claims LegalMatter	Dec. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Dec. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event Federal Law Claims LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Mar. 31, 2013 Hernia Product Claims Arbitration Proceedings Carriers	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Superior Court of State of Rhode Island Subsequent Event Plaintiff	Feb. 13, 2014 Hernia Product Claims Superior Court of State of Rhode Island Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Carriers	Jul. 31, 2012 Women's Health Product Claims	Feb. 13, 2014 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Plaintiff LegalMatter Claim	Feb. 13, 2014 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event United States LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Women's Health Product Claims Subsequent Event Canada LegalMatter	Jul. 31, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Multi District Litigation	Sep. 30, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims Multi District Litigation Claim	Jan. 16, 2014 Women's Health Product Claims Multi District Litigation Subsequent Event LegalMatter	Sep. 30, 2013 Women's Health Product Claims New Jersey state case Claim	Jul. 31, 2013 Filter Product Claims State Law Claims LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2013 Filter Product Claims State Law Claims LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event LegalMatter Plaintiff	Feb. 13, 2014 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event State Law Claims LegalMatter	Feb. 13, 2014 Filter Product Claims Subsequent Event Minimum State Law Claims LegalMatter	Dec. 31, 2011 Brachytherapy Matter
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits																					1		480	320			295
Number of individual plaintiffs																				950						430				10,395									45
Number of putative class actions																					2										5	4								3
Number of previously filed class action lawsuits																					10
Number of Putative Class Actions Settled																						3
Number of Multidistrict Litigations																	1
U. S. District Court award for plaintiff's damages																													$ 3.6				$ 2.0
Loss contingency claims settled number																																		1		1
Loss contingency claims dismissed number																																		1
Number of individual case for trial																																			200
Expected trial date scheduled by Court																																			2014-05
Generic complaints																														1,390
Number of claim not yet filed																														2,195									160
Number of putative class actions dismissed																																						2
Number of putative class actions with class certification denied																																					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
Number of insurance carriers																									1			1
Insurance coverage no longer 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															12.50%	20.00%
Gore Proceeds	894.3	894.3		894.3	0	0			37.6
Gore proceeds, gross		894.3
Gore proceeds, net of tax		557.4
Product Claims, charges incurred before taxes		108.0	293.0
Product Claims, charges incurred after tax		92.0	276.0
Accruals for product liability and other legal matters		662.4		662.4	158.1
Accruals for product liability and other legal matters, accrued expenses		117.5		117.5
Payments to qualified settlement fund																		19.5	177.1
Payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds																		28.2	160.8
Other payments to qualified claimants from qualified settlement funds																		18.8	29.4
Receivables related to product liability matters							234.9	45.6
Minimum annual rentals, 2014		30.3		30.3
Minimum annual rentals, 2015		26.2		26.2
Minimum annual rentals, 2016		24.1		24.1
Minimum annual rentals, 2017		20.1		20.1
Minimum annual rentals, 2018		19.2		19.2
Minimum annual rentals, thereafter		57.3		57.3
Total rental expense for operating leases				$ 29.4	$ 25.9	$ 25.1