SET @s = (SELECT IF( (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE table_schema = DATABASE() AND table_name = 'Monitors' AND column_name = 'Decoder' ) > 0, "SELECT 'Column Decoder already exists in Monitors'", "ALTER TABLE `Monitors` ADD `Decoder` varchar(32) AFTER `Deinterlacing`" )); PREPARE stmt FROM @s; EXECUTE stmt;