Gavvy,
everyone is going to tell you to quit smoking but of course easier said than done. However, it is recommended that you cut down a week before and two weeks after the surgery because it impacts the healing and you may end up with a loose prosthesis. Also, you will be in the hospital overnight at least one day so plan on how you are going to handle not smoking during that time. Bring an Ecig or have them put a patch on you etc.
Arthritis is the biggest indication for hip replacements. Its easy to see the joint space narrowing on xray, However, it sounds like you had an arthrogram also which shows the labral tear. What is more difficult to spot are bone spurs which are often culprits for a lot of pain, sciatica etc. You simply won't have this issue anymore with the joint replacement. 3-4 hours for the surgery sounds like a long period of time. They usually take about an hour and a half but maybe they were including your preOp and recovery room time. They usually do a spinal with it and you will probably have a urinary drainage tube for several hours post op. No big deal. They will do the spinal after your anesthitized.
There are two major approaches. The anterior and posterio/lateral. Most people have the anterior approach but I opted for the posterio/lateral approach because the prior femorplasty for a labral tear had reshaped my femur and I was concerned about the risk of femur fracture. Anterior oftencomes with thigh numbness post op and possible femur fracture. Posterio/lateral has to go through (separate) the gluteaus maximus and requires additional post op hip recautions to prevent disloaction. Both can have length disparities but it is what it is. Thats why getting someone with good experience can make a difference.
There was one doctor I consulted with who uses a 3D scanner to get the prosthesis to be an exact fit. Unfortunately I did not use him and the length of mine are uneven and I'm having bursitis as a result. So my pain has not resolved as of yet and I am 10 weeks post op.
3 major companies make the prosthesis, smith and nephew, de puy and another. There are modular and fixed. Most people get the modular with nonmetal material in the cup (can't remember the name of the material) Its a hard composit. When they were using metal on metal, bits of metal were shearing off with usage and people were getting metalosis and rejection. However, that is resolved with the composit on metal.
They tell you you are going to walk out of the hospital. Your walking for the first few weeks will be to the bathroom and back and thats pretty much it. I had help come in for 5 days a week for the first 4 weeks for 4 hours a day. It was a god send and worth every penny (15/hour). One thing that was great is that she changed my sheets every day. I was spending a lot of time in bed initially, so it made me feel much better. But meals, laundry etc all add up and it will do a world of good for your spirits to have the help and it will help you stay healthy.
In addition, I got all my supplies, everything I needed post op from our local church. They had it all, they let me use it for free and I've since returned them. Shower chair, toilet riser, shoe horn, wheelchair, walker, cain, and more.
Hope this sheds a little light on what to expect.