Business segment information (Details 3) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Spine	Dec. 31, 2010 Spine	Dec. 31, 2009 Spine	Dec. 31, 2011 Orthopedics	Dec. 31, 2010 Orthopedics	Dec. 31, 2009 Orthopedics	Sep. 30, 2010 Sports Medicine	Dec. 31, 2011 Sports Medicine	Dec. 31, 2010 Sports Medicine	Dec. 31, 2009 Sports Medicine	Dec. 31, 2011 Corporate	Dec. 31, 2010 Corporate	Dec. 31, 2009 Corporate
Business segment information - operating income (loss)
Operating income (loss)		$ 32,519,000	$ 88,990,000	$ 63,875,000	$ 46,618,000	$ 80,688,000	$ 60,830,000	$ 12,368,000	$ 5,879,000	$ 5,781,000		$ 1,166,000	$ 22,586,000	$ 21,347,000	$ (27,633,000)	$ (20,163,000)	$ (24,083,000)
Charges related to U.S. Government resolutions		88,463,000			42,500,000			6,500,000							7,500,000
Litigation and settlement costs												5,000,000
Insurance expense to cover product liability claims												2,000,000	1,700,000
Net gain on sale of vascular operations	12,019,000		12,019,000								12,300,000		12,000,000
Senior management succession charges															3,200,000
Business segment information - other
Depreciation and amortization		$ 22,776,000	$ 22,521,000	$ 22,344,000	$ 11,060,000	$ 9,407,000	$ 9,154,000	$ 5,506,000	$ 6,282,000	$ 5,733,000		$ 6,158,000	$ 6,706,000	$ 7,348,000	$ 52,000	$ 126,000	$ 109,000