SET @s = (SELECT IF( (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE table_schema = DATABASE() AND table_name = 'Monitors' AND column_name = 'MinSectionLength' ) > 0, "SELECT 'Column MinSectionLength already exists in Monitors'", "ALTER TABLE Monitors ADD `MinSectionLength` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '10' AFTER SectionLength" )); PREPARE stmt FROM @s; EXECUTE stmt;