SET @s = (SELECT IF( (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE table_schema = DATABASE() AND table_name = 'Controls' AND column_name = 'CanReboot' ) > 0, "SELECT 'Column CanReboot already exists in Controls'", "ALTER TABLE Controls ADD `CanReboot` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL default '0' AFTER `CanReset`" )); PREPARE stmt FROM @s; EXECUTE stmt;