'Egg-cased heart': a multimodality imaging approach to chronic constrictive pericarditis with egg-shell calcification: a case report.

Extensive pericardial calcification encasing the heart like an egg-shell is rare in CCP. Likelihood of incomplete pericardial resection is high in calcific CP and hence a median sternotomy is preferred over anterolateral thoracotomy. A preoperative non-contrast CT scan defines the thickness, anatomic extent the calcification and its adherence to myocardium and surrounding structures. A reconstructed volume-rendered image delineates the extent of calcification precisely, thus determining the optimum surgical approach. A multi-modality imaging in CP, especially in calcific CP, is thus of paramount importance.