Former Queensland surgeon Jayant Patel has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of one of his patients.

After a 23-day trial and two days of deliberations, a Supreme Court jury handed down its decision in Brisbane this afternoon.

Patel wiped away tears as the verdict was read out and hugged his legal team.

Outside court, the 62-year-old did not speak to waiting reporters but his lawyer, Ken Fleming QC, said justice had been served.

"Dr Patel is very happy with the result but he can't talk to people yet because obviously there are other issues to be resolved," Mr Fleming said.

"Can we say this, that Dr Patel is his own best advocate.

"The evidence was there and the jury acted responsibly and well. They worked very hard," he added.

Patel was accused of the manslaughter of 75-year-old Mervyn Morris, who died three weeks after receiving surgery in Bundaberg in 2003.

During the complex Supreme Court trial, the Crown alleged Patel was negligent because he recommended and performed bowel surgery on Mr Morris.

But the jury rejected the Crown's case and accepted Patel's defence that the operation on Mr Morris was necessary because he was suffering from diverticular bleeding.

His defence team said expert evidence proved the decision to operate on Mr Morris was reasonable.

'Devastated'

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The jury retired on Monday afternoon, when Justice George Fryberg gave the jurors a flow chart with 28 questions to help them reach their verdict.

Justice Fryberg had also told the jurors to ignore any feelings of sympathy or dislike and decide solely on the evidence.

Whistleblower nurse Toni Hoffman said she was stunned by the verdict.

"I'm just feeling very devastated for the family of Mr Morris and all of the staff that were involved in giving evidence and I think it's a very sad day," she said.

"It's not what I was hoping for."

Patient advocate Beryl Crosby also said she was disappointed.

"It's pretty shattering. I can't imagine what Mervyn Morris's family is going through right now and the rest of Bundaberg will be in shock," she said.

Patel now faces two outstanding manslaughter charges; two counts of grievous bodily harm, seven of fraud and one of attempted fraud.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has yet to decide whether to proceed with the outstanding matters.