Business Acqusition (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Customer Relationships [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Accounts Payable [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Deferred Income Taxes [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Other Liabilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Customer Relationships [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Customer Relationships [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Patents [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Patents [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Cash [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Accounts Receivable [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Viking Systems, Inc. [Member] Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash paid for acqusition															$ 22,500,000
Assets acquired															29,415,000								390,000	1,349,000	151,000
Inventory															2,562,000
Property, plant, & equipment															117,000
Intangibles																				1,725,000		1,100,000
Goodwill	256,821,000				234,815,000				256,821,000	234,815,000	295,068,000				22,021,000
Liabilities acquired															6,887,000	1,324,000	827,000	4,736,000
Net assets acquired															22,528,000
Weighted average amortization period (in years)									29 years			33 years	9 years						10 years		9 years
Net sales	201,244,000	181,885,000	189,695,000	194,316,000	185,577,000	172,814,000	183,236,000	183,450,000	767,140,000	725,077,000	713,723,000		3,400,000
Income (loss) before income taxes									59,480,000	(2,305,000)	45,657,000		(1,500,000)
Pro Forma Information
Net sales													774,239,000	735,857,000
Net income													$ 38,018,000	$ (2,176,000)
Basic													$ 1.34	$ (0.08)
Diluted													$ 1.33	$ (0.08)