Email template mergefields avoiding spaces when mergefields are empty

Hi - anyone knows how to manage blank mergefields in a email template? If i want to merge firstname, middlename and lastname and the midlename is empty, i get spaces in between firstname and lastname. How can i manage this, by inserting an if, then, else - like you do when you merge with a wordtemplate? I cant see that you can do similar with an email template....