Near-Infrared Image Guided Surgical Resection With Indocyanine Green in Treating Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Documentation of a head and neck cancer diagnosis as evidenced by tissue biopsy.
* Patients diagnosed with any T stage, any subsite within the head and neck that are scheduled to undergo surgical resection. Patients with recurrent disease or a new primary will be allowed.
* Planned standard of care surgery with curative intent for squamous cell carcinoma.
* Have life expectancy of more than 12 weeks.
* Karnofsky performance status of at least 70% or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)/Zubrod level 1.
* Hemoglobin \>= 9 gm/dL.
* White blood cell count \> 3000/mm\^3.
* Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3.
* Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 mg/dL.
* Liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase \[AST\], alanine aminotransferase \[ALT\], and total bilirubin) =\< 1.5 times the upper reference range.
* Written informed consent (and assent when applicable) obtained from subject or subject?s legal representative and ability for subject to comply with the requirements of the study.
* Agree to not have radioactive iodine uptake studies done within 1 week of indocyanine green.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pregnant, breastfeeding, or unwilling to practice birth control during participation in the study.
* Allergy to iodine or iodinated materials.
* Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the investigator would compromise the safety of the patient or the quality of the data.
* Myocardial infarction (MI); cerebrovascular accident (CVA); uncontrolled congestive heart failure (CHF); significant liver disease; or unstable angina within 6 months prior to enrollment.