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Maximum amount of borrowings available under the long-term debt instrument.

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The cash inflow during the period from additional borrowings in aggregate debt. Includes proceeds from short-term and long-term debt.

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Amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term of minimum lease payments during the lease term (excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes to be paid by the lessor, together with any profit thereon) net of payments or other amounts applied to the principal through the balance sheet date.

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Description of a feature that permits the issuer of the debt to repay or convert it before the stated maturity date (early retirement date). The description should include the call price, the period that the issuer can call the debt, including the earliest call date, and other significant terms of the call feature, which may include the debt holders' ability to convert the debt to equity if the call option is exercised and contingent events that trigger the issuer's ability to call the debt.

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The stated principal amount of the debt instrument at time of issuance, which may vary from the carrying amount because of unamortized premium or discount.

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Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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Date when the debt instrument was issued, which may be presented in a variety of ways (year, month and year, day, month and year, quarter, etc.).

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Identification of the contractual issuer of the debt instrument (for example, a subsidiary of the reporting entity).

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, which may be presented in a variety of ways (year, month and year, day, month and year, quarter, etc.).

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Net increase or decrease in the carrying amount of the credit facility for the period for reasons other than accrued, but unpaid interest, additional borrowings, repayments, and forgiveness.

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Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all long-term debt, which is debt initially having maturities due after one year from the balance sheet date or beyond the operating cycle, if longer, but excluding the portions thereof scheduled to be repaid within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer plus capital lease obligations due to be paid more than one year after the balance sheet date.

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Obligation related to long-term debt (excluding convertible debt) and capital leases, the portion which is due in one year or less in the future.

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Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all long-term debt, which is debt initially having maturities due after one year from the balance sheet date or beyond the operating cycle, if longer, but excluding the portions thereof scheduled to be repaid within one year (current maturities) or the normal operating cycle, if longer, and after deducting unamortized discount or premiums, if any.

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Including both current and noncurrent portions, carrying amount as of the balance-sheet date of other forms of debt not elsewhere specified in the taxonomy with initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date , including the current and noncurrent portions, of collateralized debt obligations (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle, if longer). Such obligations include mortgage loans, chattel loans, and any other borrowings secured by assets of the borrower.

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of Notes with the highest claim on the assets of the issuer in case of bankruptcy or liquidation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer), excluding current portion. Senior note holders are paid off in full before any payments are made to junior note holders.

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Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended											6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Amended 2006 Senior Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Amended 2006 Senior Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Term Loan A [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Term Loan A [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Term Loan B [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Term Loan B [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes February 2011 [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 5.75 Percent [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 5.25 Percent [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 5.25 Percent [Member] EUR (€)	Jun. 30, 2011 Euro Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Euro Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 EIB Agreements [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 EIB Agreements [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Credit Agreement			$ 3,474,088	$ 2,953,890
Senior Long Term Notes											1,929,959	824,446					289,060	267,240	366,960	351,686
Capital lease obligations	15,652	15,439
Other	115,561	160,957
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations	6,191,280	4,573,658
Less current maturities	606,177	263,982
Total long-term debt less current maturities	5,585,103	4,309,676
Maximum amount available			4,004,691	4,072,764	1,275,000	1,335,000	1,529,691	1,537,764	1,200,000	1,200,000
Balance outstanding			3,474,088	2,953,890	1,275,000	1,335,000	1,529,691	1,537,764	669,397	81,126
Line of credit outstanding which reduces available borrowings under the revolving credit facility	180,766	121,518
Senior Notes Issued February 2011 [Abstract]
Issuance date													2011-02-03
Issuer														Fresenius Medical Care US Finance, Inc.	FMC Finance VII S.A.	FMC Finance VII S.A.
Face amount														650,000	412,350	300,000
Stated interest rate														5.75%	5.25%	5.25%
Effective interest rate														5.875%
Maturity date														Feb. 15, 2021	Feb. 15, 2021	Feb. 15, 2021
Call feature													US Finance and Finance VII may redeem the 5.75% Senior Notes and 5.25% Senior Notes, respectively, at any time at 100% of principal plus accrued interest and a premium calculated pursuant to the terms of the applicable indenture. The holders of the 5.75% Senior Notes and the 5.25% Senior Notes have a right to request that the respective issuers of the notes repurchase the applicable issue of notes at 101% of principal plus accrued interest upon the occurrence of a change of control of the Company followed by a decline in the rating of the respective notes.
Proceeds from debt issuance													$ 1,035,000