Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge	$ 975,900,000			$ 975,900,000	$ 304,700,000
Goodwill	$ 9,594,400,000	$ 10,668,400,000		$ 9,594,400,000	10,668,400,000	$ 10,643,900,000
Reporting units with goodwill assigned to them				4
In Process Research and Development (IPR&D) [Member] | Biomet [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible asset impairment				$ 3,800,000	26,800,000	31,100,000
Dental [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Percentage of fair value in excess of carrying amount	5.00%			5.00%
Other Reporting Units [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Reporting units with goodwill assigned to them				3
Other Reporting Units [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Percentage of fair value in excess of carrying amount	25.00%			25.00%
Product Category Operating Segments [Member] | Office Based Technologies [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge			$ 32,700,000		32,700,000
Goodwill			$ 0
Product Category Operating Segments [Member] | Spine [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge		272,000,000		$ 401,200,000	272,000,000
Goodwill	$ 0			0
Product Category Operating Segments [Member] | Insignificant Reporting Unit [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge				7,700,000
Goodwill	7,700,000			7,700,000
EMEA [Member]
Finite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge				567,000,000
Goodwill	$ 755,200,000	$ 1,379,800,000		$ 755,200,000	$ 1,379,800,000	$ 1,263,700,000