The goal of ankle arthrodesis (also known as ankle fusion) is to relieve pain and maintain or improve function for patients with ankle arthritis. Ankle arthritis is degeneration of the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones that form the ankle joint. These bones are the tibia, the fibula, and the talus. Pain typically is made worse with movement of the arthritic ankle. In ankle arthrodesis the ankle bones are fused into one bone. This eliminates the joint motion and reduces pain coming from the arthritic joint.